By Kyle Dean/Sports Editor
TIFTON — On Senior Night at Brodie Field, two of Tift County’s brightest stars shined the brightest one last time.
Micah McCant rushed for 74 yards and three touchdowns and threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Dixon to lead the Blue Devils to a 35-17 win over Coffee High on Friday night.
With the win, the Devils finish the season with a 3-7 overall record, and finish with a 2-5 Region 1-AAAAA record. Coffee ends the season at 3-7 and 1-6 in league play.
“We talked about this being our state championship,” head coach Jay Walls said.
“For these 15 seniors that stuck it out with us — I am so proud of them.”
The night did not start well for the Devils, as Coffee jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the second quarter.
A fumble deep in Tift territory gave Coffee a 1st-and-10 at the 12-yard line, but the Blue Devil defense stood tall and pushed the Trojans back to the 16 yard line. Coffee kicker Aaron Lott nailed a 33-yard field goal with 5:41 remaining in the first quarter to give the Trojans a 3-0 lead.
After a second quarter Tift punt, the Trojans went 67 yards on nine plays to score a touchdown on a Carter Adams 5-yard run. The drive was extended when Coffee punter Luke Anderson threw a shovel pass to Corvoski Hutto for a 34-yard pass play down to the Tift 25 yard line.
Jacob Moore’s PAT gave the Trojans a 10-0 lead with 11:10 remaining in the half.
Following the drive by the Trojans, Tift came back with a 67 yard drive of their own.
Dixon hit Matt Nelson on a seam route, and three plays later, Dixon found Jakevin Jackson on a 25-yard pass play down to the Trojans’ 2-yard line.
On a fourth down, Tift’s Markeith Hayes bullied in from 1-yard out to cut into the Coffee lead. Griffin Martin’s PAT pulled Tift to within three points with 6:31 remaining in the second quarter.
After forcing a Trojan punt, the Devils went back to work on offense as senior Jakiel McCray ripped off a 37-yard run into Coffee territory. A pass to Jackson and four Dixon runs moved the ball down to the Trojans’ 2-yard line. McCant scored a 2-yard rushing touchdown with 38 seconds left on the clock and Martin’s PAT gave Tift a 14-10 lead.
After the kickoff, Coffee elected to pass and instead of a Trojan — Adams found Tift freshman Gerald Pledger. Pledger returned the interception 45 yards down to the Coffee 2-yard line. McCant scored on the next play, and Martin’s extra point gave the Devils a 21-10 lead at halftime.
Coffee looked to get back in the game in the second half, as the Trojans got down to the Devils’ 18-yard line. But again, Tift’s defense forced the Trojans back to the 30, and McCant blocked a 47-yard field goal attempt by Lott.
On the ensuing drive, Dixon found McCray down the home sideline for a 62 yard pass play on a screen. McCray nearly outran the Coffee defense, and was tackled at the 20 yard line. McCant scored two plays later on a 9-yard run for his third TD run of the night. Martin’s PAT gave Tift a 28-10 lead with 3:40 remaining in the third quarter.
The Devils iced the game with just under five minutes left in the game, when McCant found Dixon all alone for a 6-yard touchdown pass, giving Tift a 35-10 lead.
McCant took a toss sweep to the right, turned back to the left, and found Dixon alone for the touchdown. It was McCant’s second TD pass of the season.
The Trojans added a late score on the Blue Devil reserves to make the final score 35-17.
Tift ended the game with 340 yards of total offense (182 rush, 158 passing), while Coffee could only muster 173 total yards (110 rush, 63 passing). Coffee’s last drive netted 71 of those yards on the reserve Blue Devils.
McCray ended his Blue Devil career with 72 yards on eight carries and the 62 yard pass play. Dixon went 9-of-13 for 152 yards passing and added 55 yards rushing on 12 attempts.
McCant finished with 107 all-purpose yards.
